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OSCE media freedom representative and ODIHR Director congratulate Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet on receiving “Alternative Nobel Prize”

WARSAW 22 September 2016
The Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Michael Georg Link, journalist Can Dündar, and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, at the margins of the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, Warsaw, 22 September 2016. (OSCE/Maria Kuchma) Photo details

WARSAW, 22 September 2016 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, and the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Michael Georg Link, today congratulated the daily Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet on receiving the Right Livelihood Award, more commonly known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize”.

The news of the award came as Can Dündar, former editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet, was taking part in the annual OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw.

“The award is an honour for myself and my colleagues at Cumhuriyet. My great hope is that this will help bring to light not just my story, but the stories of the thousands of journalists in the OSCE region who have been silenced, often imprisoned, simply for doing their jobs,” Dündar said.

Mijatović and Link were speaking during a session at the event dedicated to freedom of the media in the OSCE region.

“Free and independent media plays an instrumental role in democracies, and this award is a testament of that,” Mijatović said. “Particularly in challenging times, critical and independent voices need to be protected, not suppressed and silenced.”

“It is fitting that the announcement of the award came while we are focusing here on freedom of the media, and the importance of that freedom to the functioning of truly democratic systems,” Director Link said. “Media outlets like Cumhuriyet play an essential role in highlighting challenges to human rights and fundamental freedoms, and in providing people with the information they need to hold their governments accountable.”

As one of the four laureates for this year’s Right Livelihood Award, Cumhuriyet was awarded “for fighting for freedom of the press in Turkey” and praised for “fearless investigative journalism” in the face of “oppression, censorship, imprisonment and death threats.”

The Representative has repeatedly addressed the media freedom situation in Turkey, including the ongoing trial against Can Dündar. These statements are available at www.osce.org/fom.